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TechRadar
TechRadar
Becky Scarrott

Apple AirPods Max 2 vs Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2: two noise-cancelling flagship headphones, one winner for design, sound, ANC and value

AirPods Max 2 and Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 in a split-screen configuration.

Apple AirPods Max 2

Despite their largely unchanged looks since the 2020 original, Apple's March 2026 cans are thoroughly deserving of the AirPods Max 2 moniker. Why? Quick answer: the new H2 chip and its computational wizardry. Slightly longer answer: the punchier sound, even better ANC and the new perks (Live Translation, Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Head Gesture control and the Camera Remote feature, for starters) all of which work seamlessly. Provided you've got a recent iPhone — an iPhone 15 Pro or newer — these extra Apple Intelligence features really make for an excellent, fuss-free music and call-handling experience that does what you want and does it with minimal button pushing.

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